‘One of the outstanding historians of modern Ireland . . . Anyone who wants to understand the making of modern Ireland should read Kinealy’s book.’ Irish Democrat ‘Tremendous . . . An invaluable addition to that small collection of books which help us look at ourselves through our own eyes, giving us the right to feel hurt and angry, a right taken away from us, and which still, sadly, has to be fought for.’ Andersonstown News Famine expert Christine Kinealy examines the influences that shaped the responses to the Famine of 1845-52. The key factors she analyses include political ideologies; providentialist ideas that read the potato blight as a judgement from God; opportunistic interpretations; the role of civil servants, Irish landlords and merchants.